Many utility data collection applications involving, e.g. a vehicle traversing a route to wirelessly and automatically gather utility data, require geographic position information. Current methods for transmitting GPS (global positioning system) data from a GPS receiver to multiple software applications require the use of multiple GPS receivers and antennas. Under current methods, a separate antenna and GPS receiver accompany each software application. This implementation can be cumbersome since multiple holes must be drilled in a vehicle to accommodate multiple antennas and multiple GPS receivers for multiple software applications. In addition, the implementation tends not to be cost effective since a separate antenna and GPS receiver must accompany each software application. If multiple software applications need GPS data, such as utility data collection and field servicing applications, then the cost can be quite high.
In an alternative embodiment, a single antenna and a single GPS receiver can supply GPS data to multiple applications. Under this implementation, the antenna and the GPS receiver can only supply GPS data to one software application at a time. If two software applications need GPS data, then one application needs to be shut down or halted while the other receives GPS data, and vice versa. This implementation can waste time since multiple software applications cannot simultaneously receive GPS data, but must wait for one software application to finish receiving GPS data before another software application can receive it.